Top Pick: The Invited Exhibition
When artists Ahmet Rüstem Ekici and Hakan Sorar began working on a 3D-printed temple as part of their show for the 6th Mardin Biennial, they had no idea that the venue where they would be displaying the piece was itself hallowed ground. But while getting the exhibition space ready, they discovered a cross in the back of the old Mardin house, indicating that it had once been used as a chapel.
Though unintentional, this historical resonance exemplifies the sensitivity to place and past demonstrated by the duo and the other artists featured in Invited: Müşterek (Unified), a sub-exhibition within a main biennial that has drawn vocal criticism this year over its perceived aloofness from its setting. (I wrote about some of the controversies last week for Hyperallergic.)
Ekici and Sorar’s imaginary temple, “Shadow Structure” (2024), is displayed on a pedestal made of rammed earth from Mardin and other parts of Anatolia. The structure itself, comprised almost entirely of arched entryways, reflects their desire to “create a temple freely open to everyone, unlike a church which has just one entrance or a mosque with separate doors for men and women.”
In the same room, the duo has installed their interactive piece “Theatrum Mundi / A Shadow A Trace A Movement” (2024), which mimics how the sun would shine light at different points during the day through various traditional decorative window grills. Like many other homes in Mardin, the artists explained, the one that houses their exhibit has seen many of its windows get closed off as new rooms got built onto the original structure over the years. “We wanted to return the sun to the house,” they told me.
Another artist featured in Invited is Cansu Sönmez, who takes as her departure point the Deyrulzafaran Monastery, a 5th century Syriac Orthodox site 8km southeast of Mardin that is also known as the Saffron Monastery. In a visual and thematic echo of her counterparts’ work that also references the pre-Christian sun temple believed to have been located at the monastery site, Sönmez has used olive skins and fabric to create a stained-glass-window effect over a lightbox.
The piece, called “Closer” (2024), casts warm, sun-like rays on a field of animatronic saffron crocuses, whose olive-leather flowers sway above bulb-like handmade ceramic corms. On the opposite wall, Sönmez’s short video work “Circadian Dissolution” (2024) uses AI to depict her robotic saffron repopulating the area around the monastery, where its namesake plant no longer grows naturally due to changing climate conditions.
The final Invited collaborator, Mardin-based artist Mehmet Çimen, presents his work “Hybrid Lands” (2024) inside a cave-like lower chamber of the building. Voices in the many languages of Mardin echo inside the darkened room while a video screen morphs together different footprints in the soil of Dara, an ancient city 30km southeast of Mardin. Hanging lamps flicker on and off, periodically casting round circles of light on the dirt-covered floor that show how visitors’ footprints have become part of the installation – and in a small way, part of the centuries-old story of Mardin.
The Invited exhibit is on view at Exit Kolektif, Latifiye Mahallesi, 153 Dereköy Sokak No: 10 during the run of the Mardin Biennial.
Click here to access my custom Google Map for visiting the Mardin Biennial, including all the exhibits recommended here and other things to see and do.
Fast Facts
What: The 6th Mardin Biennial, a biannual contemporary art exhibition
Where: The old city of Mardin, in southeast Turkey
When: Until 10 June
How to get there: Flights depart daily for Mardin Airport (MQM) from both Istanbul airports. The Havaş airport shuttle, timed with each arriving flight, takes about 30 minutes to get to “Eski Mardin” (old Mardin).
For more information: https://en.mardinbienali.org
Other Biennial Highlights
Some of my own personal favorite works, listed by venue.
Uluslararasi Tasarim Vakfi Galerisi: Güneş Terkol’s playful drawings on tulle [pictured above]; Yıldız Moran’s 1950s photographs of Mardin (on display in multiple venues); Nil Yalter’s video collaborations with low-income families from Diyarbakır and Mardin in 2005.
Tasarim Vakfi Meydan Galerisi: Bruno Serralongu’s photographic series documenting expeditions by volunteer naturalists who helped stop environmentally destructive plans to build an airport in a biodiverse rural wetland in France.
Alman Karargahı: Video artist Ali Kazma’s close observation of the skill and movements involved in printmaking; Erik Bullot’s lyrical film about humans’ attempts to communicate with birds.
Develihan: Cevdet Erek’s skinless drums; Sarkis’ rainbow-fingerprinted windows (made in collaboration with local children); Rafiel Lain and Angela Detanico’s hypnotic animation of star-like flowers growing and dissolving overhead.
Sakıp Sabancı Mardin Kent Müzesi: Ali Kazma’s video meditation on the otherworldly Svalbard Seed Vault; a documentation of Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen)’s 1976 art heist as a political act.
Kervansaray: İrem Günaydın’s imaging of a lost collection of artifacts belonging to a crusading real-life archaeologist.
Alternative Exhibitions
Dozens of independent exhibitions are being held by local artists in parallel with the Mardin Biennial, many of them aligned with the “Hangi Sergi Nerede?” platform. Here are a few highlights:
Mardin Maviler – Striking cyanotypes and Mesopotamian symbolism by Amar Kılıç [pictured above].
Van Olan Nihai Sonu Hatırlamak – Hesen Chalak’s detailed, elegiac drawings of hunted animals and endangered species.
Replikalar – Architecturally inspired paintings and drawings and other works by Sidar Alışık.
Kurmaca Notlar – Vibrant paintings by Bawer Doğanay.
Türkiye’nin Çamaşırlar – Group work by a collective of women photographers from seven different regions of Turkey.
Pêşangehên Arkeoyê – Group show featuring artists Abdo Yalçınkaya, Cebrail Özmen, Şerif Kino and Tehsin Baravi.
Aynı Anda – Group show organized by the Diyarbakır-based Rıdvan Kuday Gallery.
* Not all exhibitions listed here will adhere to the exact same schedule as the Mardin Biennial.
While in Mardin
STAY
Kaya Ninova Hotel – Good-value accommodations with a central location on Eski Mardin’s main street.
Nahıl Misafirevi – Small guesthouse-style lodging in the Mardin backstreets that supports local women’s cooperatives in Turkey.
EAT & DRINK
Leyli Muse Mutfak – Character-filled restaurant serving local Mardin dishes.
Sultan Sofrası – Classic lokanta for satisfying home-style fare.
Street snacks – Süryani çöreği (date-stuffed mini-biscuits topped with sesame seeds or almonds) and badem şekeri (candied almonds tinted blue with a dye made from a local tree root – or so they say!)
Sinek – Drinks with a view over the Mesopotamian plains (sometimes called the “Mardin sea”) and occasional live music performances.
VISIT
Halil Altındere’s ‘Motherland’ – A retrospective of the Mardin-born artist’s playfully political work is on display on the basement floor of the Sakıp Sabancı Mardin Kent Müzesi until 10 June. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 5pm and an entry ticket costs 90 TL.
Eski Mardin – Plan to devote at least half a day to leisurely wandering of the winding backstreets of Mardin’s old town, which are full of beautiful old sandstone buildings, including churches, mosques, and madrasas, as well as a colorful çarşı (bazaar) area just below the main drag through town.
Day trip – It’s worth hiring a car for a half-day trip to the Deyrulzafaran Monastery (8km southeast of Mardin; open 8:30am-noon and 1-4:30pm for guided tours) and the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Dara (30km southeast of Mardin), which are scattered around the village of the same name. Don’t miss the Zindan Sarnıç (cistern) underneath a village house.
SHOP
Dar Atölye – Small boutique in the çarşı area using traditional block-printing techniques to make cool T-shirts, kimonos, and other stylish clothing items
Nahıl Dükkan – Homemade soaps and handicrafts by members of women’s cooperatives from around Turkey.
Topraktan Tabağa Tarımsal Kalkınma Kooperatifi – Jams, honeys, pickles, grains, and other locally made food products from the women-run “Soil to Plate” cooperative.